first time car camping/future car camping.. what are the absolute essentials?

I just bought a TRD off road 4 runner stock with no roof rack or anything & want to get into car camping mainly in the PNW & Northern CA area. I have looked on a bunch of sites to find essentials but am getting overwhelmed with everything there is. I’m planning a snowboarding trip to Oregon at the end of Feb and am looking for what I would ABSOLUTELY need to spend a night or two in the car. I’ll build up from that point on but just wondering if anyone has any suggestions especially since it’ll be a little chilly.